Mozambique quake kills 2

2006-02-23 11:41

Maputo - The earthquake that rocked Mozambique early on Thursday morning was felt as far afield as Pretoria and Durban. At least two people have died and 13 were injured when the quake, measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale, rocked central Mozambique.

"For the moment we have at least two dead and 13 injured in Machaze, but I believe that the situation is going to evolve," said Severino Marcos, a technician at the geology department in the mining ministry.

No South Africans were killed or injured.

The SA Council for Geosciences (SACG) said the quake registered 7.3 on the Richter scale in the Massangena area, inland south of Beira, according to local initial measurements. The US Geological Survey estimates put it higher at 7.5.

Quake woke her up

The quake hit at 22:19 on Wednesday, with its epicentre located in the central Manica province, some 530km north of the capital Maputo and 225km southwest of Beira, said the US Geological Survey.

"A woman from Prestige Park in Pretoria phoned in to report that she had been woken up and the time that she gave was spot on, 00:20," said Ian Saunders of the SACG.

He explained that the quake was not unusual for the region, situated on the East African rift system.

At least three aftershocks had already been recorded, said Saunders.

"The earth's crust is in constant flux and new crust is being created," he explained. "The East African rift has been moving apart over millions of years. Fault lines forms the rift and as it moves apart you have stress relief and this forms the quake. It's a bit like pulling on two pieces of paper - eventually it has to split somewhere."

"We have picked up quakes in that area before, but this is a serious one."

Mozambican Gilbert Cochelane, who is staying at the Tivoli Hotel in Beira, told Sapa just after 04:00 that a second earthquake, presumably an aftershock, hit the area around 03:00.

"Everything started shaking again about 03:00," Cochelane said.

"No-one is sleeping. The electricity is out, everything is in darkness, we are very scared."

Another guest said: "It felt like being in a boat on heavy seas. "Everything went wobbly. I looked at the air conditioner in my room and it was slightly skew. The floor also. But nothing fell."

Mozambican authorities were still assessing injuries and damage, and have urged people not to go back into their buildings for fear of further aftershocks, news agencies on the scene reported.

- AFP